FOI will be passed in the 16th Congress, says Poe

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Senator Grace Poe, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media, is confident that the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill will be passed in the 16th Congress.

During the Senate hearing last September 4, the first under the 16th Congress, Poe said that the bill is long overdue and that public clamor for its passage had  reached its tipping point during the Million People March last August 26.

“The long term or strategic solution to the corruption problem is by making government records and transactions available to the general public,” said Poe.

Representatives from different sectors also expressed their support and presented their recommendations on the FOI bill.

Leaders of the Right to Know. Right Now! Coalition (R2KRN), an alliance of about 160 organizations and individuals from various social sectors and civil society groups that have long been campaigning for the passage of an FOI Act, attended the session to express their position on the bill. The Center for Media Freedom & Responsibility is a member of the coalition.

Lawyer Nepomuceno Malaluan noted that provisions and exceptions of the bill have already been discussed fully and that now all that is needed is the political will to pass it.

Malou Mangahas of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, which is also a member of the coalition and of the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists, said that the FOI bill will benefit the entire citizenry, and not only the media.

“It’s time to pass the bill without really looking at how it will hurt the politicians and their personal interests because it’s really a law for the citizens.”

While speakers from the Palace, the defense department, and the  Intelligence community said that there should be balance between the public’s right to know and the government’s legitimate rights, Mangahas pointed out that freedom of information “should be taken from the point of view of the citizens and not from that of the leaders.”

Poe, however, stated that the bill will always uphold national security and welfare.

Senators Francis Escudero, Joseph Victor Ejercito, and Juan Edgardo Angara—sponsors of the FOI bill—were also in the committee hearing.

Escudero stated that provisions of recordkeeping in the bill should be strengthened because FOI will be useless if the government keeps no records of transactions.

Ejercito also mentioned that there is a need for citizens to know how public officials exercise their powers and authorities. “The right to information is our protection against government abuse and at the same time, it is in our power to make the government accountable.”

Ejercito recalled that the FOI bill was not in the list of priority bills in the previous Congress. He said had Malacañang certified the bill as urgent, it would have been passed during the 15th Congress.

Undersecretary Manuel Quezon III of the Presidential Communications Group assured the groups present that Malacañang fully supports the passage of the bill as long as it includes exceptions on the government’s need for confidentiality and doesn’t threaten national security.

Angara, referring to PNoy’s (President Benigno S. Aquino III) “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap” said, “Kung walang FOI, lumalago ang corrupt (Without an FOI the corrupt will multiply).” He added that there is no doubt that the bill should be passed especially now that the pork barrel scandal is in the news.

Poe announced that her committee will have its second and last hearing on the bill within this month. “We will have one more hearing where we expect to hear the views of media organizations, civil society, and other key stakeholders.”

She said the committee will review all positions and come up with a report by October.

The Senate has supported the passage of the bill since the 14th Congress. However, resistance and stonewalling have been the consistent story at the House of Representatives.

To know more about the history of  FOI legislation in the country, please visit Media and public policy: Freedom of information webpage and follow #FOInow on social media.